Locals claim 270-home scheme in Harborough is ‘underhand’

Residents on a new estate in Market Harborough have condemned as “underhand” the latest plans by a developer for an estate extension.

The residents on the estate off Farndon Road say a proposed 270-home extension to their estate would eventually bring another 1,000 vehicle movements a day through existing narrow estate roads.

And residents’ spokesman James Bolter said: “No one who bought a house here knew of this proposed extension. It wouldn’t have come up on any searches.

“To us, it seems underhand of the developers to tempt people to live on a new estate at what we thought was the edge of this fantastic town called Market Harborough, overlooking countryside, and then say ‘but now we want to build another 270 houses’. It’s just not cricket.”

He said residents also objected to the new estate being built on a wildlife area with a pond, and across a popular bridleway.

He added: “And of course we’d have two to three years more of dust, noise and construction traffic that we didn’t expect when we moved here.”

Other residents have written to the council complaining about drainage problems on the estate, and the “outrageous” plan to turn what new residents thought were cul-de-sacs into through roads for the new development.

The company behind the proposed 270-home extension is CJC Development Company Ltd and the Pilkington Trust.

The company has confirmed it is “proposing a second, but significantly smaller, residential development as an extension to the existing phase.

“Like the first phase there will be a very strong emphasis on open space and landscaping” a statement from the developers said.

“The proposals will offer an exciting opportunity for new well-thought-out homes in Market Harborough where there continues to be a shortage of homes due to the popularity of Market Harborough itself and its excellent location.”